Railroad-tie.



PATENTED FEB. 20, 1906.

0. B. SHANNON.

RAILROAD TIE.

APPLIOATION FILED JUNE 2,1905.

INVENTOR C /zazZea E-Jfiannaiv UNITED STATES PATENT UFFIUE.

RAILROAD-Tl E.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 20, 1906.

Application filed June 2, 1905. Serial No. 263,371.

To all whom it 11mg concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES E. SHANNON, a citizen of the United States,and a resident of Marble City, in District No. 11, Indian Territory,have invented a new and Improved Railroad-Tie, of which the following isa full, clear, and exact description.

This invention relates to railroad-ties.

The object of the invention is to produce a railroad-tie which will havethe strength and durability of a metal tie, combined with the resiliencyand advantages of a wooden tie.

The invention consists in the construction and combination of parts tobe more fully described hereinafter and definitely set forth in theclaims.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part ofthis specification, in which similar characters of reference indicatecorresponding parts in all the figures.

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a tie constructed according to myinvention, the end of the tie being broken away and shown incross-section, and the rails are also shown in section. Fig. 2 is a planof the tie, showing short portions of the rails in position above thetie. Fig. 3 is a horizontal section upon an enlarged scale and takenupon the line 3 3 of Fig. 1, and Fig. 4 is an enlarged section takensubstantially upon the line 4 4 of Fig. 1.

Referring more particularly to the parts, 1 represents the body of thetie, which is preferably formed of pressed steel or similar material,having the form of a channel, presenting a horizontal web 2, withupwardly projecting side flanges 3. At the extremities of the body theseside flanges are extended upwardly to form fins 4, and the innerextremities of these fins are undercut, so as to form recesses 5,adapted to receive the outer edges of flanges 6 of the rails 7, asindicated. The rails are supported upon blocks 8 of wood, fiber, orsimilar material, and these blocks fit nicely in the extremities of thebody, completely filling the space between the side flanges 3. In orderto secure these blocks against being lifted out of the tie-body, theside flanges 3 are provided with inwardlyprojecting tongues 9, formed bypressing the material inwardly, as indicated most clearly in Fig. 3.Opposite these tongues the sides of the blocks are formed withlongitudinal grooves 10, which receive these tongues in such manner asto retain the blocks against upward movement. In this connection itshould be understood that the blocks are inserted by slipping themlongitudinally into the ends of the body. In order to limit the inwardmovement of the blocks when placed in position, as suggested, so thatthey will seat properly, I provide at suitable points projections orstops 11, which are preferably formed by pressing the material of theflanges inwardly, as indicated most clearly in Fig. 3. Against theseprojections the inner faces 12 of the blocks will abut, and they ofcourse operate as stops to position the blocks. In laying the rails theyare allowed to rest upon the upper faces of the blocks and then movedoutwardly until the outer edges of their flanges are received in therecesses 5. The inner edges of the flanges are then securely attached tothe blocks by spikes 13' of the usual form. In this way the rails aresecurely fixed. In order to enable the space between the blocks of thetie to drain freely, I provide drain openings 14, preferably locatednear the ends of the blocks, as indicated in Fig. 2.

Special attention is called to the fact that in laying the tie and railsthe use of fasteningbolts and numerous spikes is unnecessary. The factthat the body of the tie is formed of metal gives it great strength,while the wood or fiber blocks give the track a desirable resiliency asthe train passes over the ties. In this way the objectionablerigiditycommon to all metal ties is avoided. In this connection it should beunderstood that with my tie the rails rest entirely upon the blocks, theblocks being extended above the upper edges of the flanges for thispurpose.

This tie can be laid upon the usual roadbed where wooden ties are used,and it does not require a specially-prepared road-bed of asphalt orconcrete, such as is often required with metal ties. When the woodenblocks wear out, they may be readily removed without removing the bodyof the tie, and new ones may be easily inserted.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secureby Letters Patent- 1. In a railroad-tie in combination, a metal bodyhaving sideflanges projecting upwardly, said side flanges havingextensions at the extremities of said body, said extensions havingrecesses formed thereunder adapted to receive the outer edges of therail flanges, blocks disposed between said first flanges and adapted tosupport the rails, and fastening devices for securing the inner edges ofthe IOO thereof adapted to receive said tongues, stops formed bypressing said flanges inwardly and 15 engaging the inner ends of saidblocks to lock the same against inward movement, and means for fasteningthe rails to said blocks.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in thepresence of 20 two subscribing Witnesses.

CHARLES E. SHANNON.

Witnesses JAMES E. HoToHKIss, ABNER L. WILLIAMS.

